Carpal tunnel syndrome often results in tingling, numbness, pain and hand weakness. The carpal tunnel is the narrow passageway on the palm side of one's wrist. This tunnel protects a main nerve (the median nerve) to the hand and nine tendons that flex fingers. Pressure placed on the portion of the median nerve inside the carpal tunnel has been known to produce the numbness, pain and, eventually, hand weakness that characterize the dysfunction caused by carpal tunnel syndrome.
Well known causes of this syndrome are repetitive use injury, traumatic injury of the hand and or wrist, metabolic conditions and by congenital or acquired physical characteristics of the carpal tunnel. Repetitive flexing and extending of the tendons in the hands and wrists, particularly when done forcefully and for prolonged periods without rest, can increase pressure within the carpal tunnel. Additionally, trauma to the wrist can cause swelling that exerts pressure on the median nerve. Physical characteristics may also cause the syndrome when a patient's carpal tunnel is more narrow than average.
Proper treatment by carpal tunnel surgery can relieve the pain and numbness and restore normal use of the wrist and hand. In most cases initial treatment consists of rest, activities modifications, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and splints. Conditions resistant to conservative treatment and conditions considered too severe otherwise for conservative treatment are generally treated surgically by “carpal tunnel release.” Carpal tunnel surgeries are usually done in hospital operating rooms by surgeons since these types of surgeries usually require the services of the anesthesia department, the operating room, and medical staff (surgeon, surgical assistance, nurses, etc). Additionally, lost work days during the patients recovery frequently adds costs that often exceed surgical costs.
As such, the initial surgical cost can be expensive, often up to $10,000 or more and there are estimated lifetime (lost work, surgical expenses, rehabilitation etc. . . . ) losses approaching $30,000 or more by some actuarial reports. Thus, with current methods such carpal tunnel conditions and subsequent surgery can be expensive and time consuming.
Various types of tools and devices have been designed for carpal tunnel surgery over the years with none as yet able to reduce expenses related to customary surgical expenses. Current surgeries either require a large (one centimeter or greater) surgical incision and/or utilize percutaneous tools placed without direct visualization of the delicate soft tissues. Large surgical incisions have the disadvantage of producing discomfort, and having longer recovery periods and postoperative surgical site sensitivity generally proportional to the length of the incision.
Accordingly, concepts of percutaneous surgery have become more widely accepted and utilized. In these procedures a small incision, usually between 7 mm and 1 cm, is made such that only specialized instrumentation may enter for the purpose of performing the necessary specific procedure. Current percutaneous procedures for carpal tunnel surgeries are performed endoscopically (ie, surgery with use of a small camera placed through the small incision to visualize the relevant anatomy while other instruments actively perform the procedure). Although these small incision techniques limit tissue injury they have a higher complication rate and are generally more expensive than other (open or “mini-open”) methods.
Thus, the need exists for solutions to the above problems with the prior art.